Nantes

Industrial port and administrative centre of the département of Loire-Atlantique and the Pays de la Loire region in western France, situated on the right bank of the River Loire, 50 km/31 mi from its mouth; population (1999) 270,300. Industries include oil, sugar refining, metal goods, textiles, soap, biscuits, and tobacco. The city has many splendid buildings, including a cathedral constructed between 1434 and 1884 and a castle founded in 938.

Nantes is a busy port and university town, and has been important since the days of its commercial prosperity under the Romans. It was the capital of the province of Brittany, and its early history is associated with that province. The Edict of Nantes was signed here in 1598 granting religious toleration to the Huguenots. It is the birthplace of the writer Jules Verne (1828) and has a museum commemorating him.